Books
Fatal impact theory
As schools are for education, so universities are for higher education. In a civilised society, children should leave school literate, numerate and with some knowledge of science, history and culture.… Read more
Mavericks need not apply
Philip Hensher gives a critical insider’s view of the Creative Writing industry It has always been a challenge to get a novel or poem published. Twenty years ago, I went… Read more
School days
There it is: Winder, one of the most imposing peaks across all the Howgill Fells. Whenever I visit my brother, a teacher at Sedbergh School, we make a habit of… Read more
On our shoulders
Our politics is such a shallow game that any senior British politician who has read a book is apt to be considered cerebral, and if he has read two, feted… Read more
Raymond Carr at 90
Dons don’t usually appear to much advantage in fiction. Dons don’t usually appear to much advantage in fiction. Sillery, Samgrass, Cottard, Lucky Jim’s professor, the History Man, all Snow’s Masters:… Read more
Tales out of school
The Old Boys’ Network, by John Rae At Westminster School, under the shadow of Big Ben and at the very centre of national life, 600 of the brightest, quirkiest and… Read more
In a class of his own
‘Voltaire and the Sun King rolled into one’ is how Elizabeth Longford has described her Oxford tutor Maurice Bowra. As Fellow and then Warden of Wadham College from 1922 to… Read more
Heroes and villains
This book falls into two distinct parts. The first is the author’s account of his own life until he left Oxford in disgrace. John Joll- iffe, the son of Lord… Read more
The true Stoic
An early memory from the years we lived near Stowe was the sight of my father pushing our front door firmly shut in the face of one of its headmasters,… Read more
Latest blogs
- It looks like we must hope for the best in Syria Douglas Murray
- Exclusive: Tories go public with EU referendum bill Isabel Hardman
- Syria crisis: debate turns to shoulda, woulda, coulda on tactics Isabel Hardman
- Cable and Willetts: the house-trained ministers? James Forsyth
- Ben Fountain interview: Lies are an affront to writers because lying is the corruption of language Stephen McEwen
- G8: leaders agree Lough Erne declaration and Syria communique Isabel Hardman
- The economic case for sacking bad teachers Fraser Nelson
